Last day in Venice

The last day, so we have to catch up on things we missed.  We had to tour the Basilica of St. Mark, had to visit the glass factories in Murano, and had to take a gondola ride.

Let's start with the Basilica.  It was a one hour guided tour, but we were told no pictures.   So I think I may have been the only person in the place who didn't take any.  It was a work of art inside.  The entire ceiling (and there was plenty of it) was filled with mosaic tiles depicting Christ and the apostles.  Most of the tiles were gold, so plenty gaudy.  It took 7 years to complete the building but a hundred years to finish the decorations.

 Every time we look at this building, we notice something else. Notice the golden-winged angles and the golden lion, the symbol of Venice.

The floors of the Basilica are mosaic patterns in different colors of marble.  The floors were once flat, but because of the unstable nature or the soil, the floors are now as wavy as the water in the canal.

Venice is famous for its glass artworks.  The island of Murano is where most of the glass artwork is produced.  We signed up for a free tour of one of the factories.  

 Above one of the glass blowers finishes a vase.  It took about 10 minutes.

Here is a glass horse he completed in about 5 minutes.

After the tour, they take you to the show room where there are hundreds of kinds of glassware and glass objects on display...figurines, glasses, vases, sets of plates, etc.  Of course the idea is for you to purchase something.  We found a nice candy dish, maybe 8 inches around on a short stem.  I figured it would probably cost about 100 euro and maybe 30 more to ship it home.  I almost choked when the salesman said it was 800 euro if I take it with me and 900 if they ship it.  It is still in the showroom.  Oh well, it was a nice boat trip.

When we got back we found a place where you could get a ride on a gondola.  The ride was about 30 minutes down the Grand Canal and into a couple of the small canals.  I am glad it wasn't 35 minutes.

What a good looking couple!

This is one of many huge liners that come up the Grand Canal.

Since there are no trucks to move cargo on the land, everything is moved on boats and then on hand trucks like this.  It is designed so that it can get up and down the steps of the bridges over the canals.

Pigeons are a problem, especially in Piazza San Marco.  A few years ago there were as many as 20,000 of them in the square.  So they passed a law forbidding the feeding of the birds.  Now the population is down to about 2000, but they can still be a nuisance.  Here a lady holds some food in her hand to attract the birds for a picture.  At the many outdoor cafes the pigeons fly right up onto your table to grab a snack.

Thursday is moving day again as we take a train to Milan and transfer to a train to Como.  This is our last stop on our voyage.  We will probably not blog again until Friday.